Mario Adventure
by LavaLizard
Summary: Boring title, yes, but the story is an action-packed adventure envolving many characters from the Mario Bros universe. I based the characters on the silly personalities me and my siblings gave them while battling in multiplayer games, so it's pretty funny
1. Mario Adventure01: The Capture

Mario Adventure  
  
Fanfiction by LavaLizard  
  
Super Mario Bros and it's related material are copyright of Nintendo.  
  
Chapter 1: The Capture   
  
------------  
The castle tower loomed high into the black and starry expanse of the night sky, it's white bricks illuminated by the glow of a full moon. Inside her room at the very top, Peach, princess of the Mushroom Kingdom, slept peacefully on her elaborate pink bed, wrapped up in her soft blanket, covered in a pink flower pattern.   
At the castle gate, on either side of the closed drawbridge, two mushroom hatted guards, each about four feet tall, struggled with all their strength not to dose off as the soothing sound of crickets in the night attempted with great success to serenade them to sleep. As one of the guards poked himself with his spear to regain awareness, his ears caught a faint sound in the distance past the loud crickets.  
  
A rumbling.  
  
"You hear that?" he asked quietly, as not to annoy anyone trying to sleep, as he strained to see out into the distant blackness.  
  
"Hear what?" the other guard asked, trying to ignore the loud chirping.  
  
"That rumbling!"  
  
"...holy crap!" the guard screamed quietly when he finally heard it.  
  
The two mushroom men stared silently into the black fields, twinkling with fireflies, straining to see what was causing the approaching rumble.  
  
"What do you think it is?" the guard on the left asked asked.  
  
The other guard didn't say anything for a few seconds. "...is that...?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"LOOK!!!!" the guard shrieked as he pointed to what looked like a large area of fireflies in the distance.  
  
"What? I just see fireflies out there."  
  
"THOSE AREN'T FIREFLIES!!! IT'S AN ARMY!!!!!"  
  
The left guard's eyes widened as he realized the 'fireflies' were actually torches lighting the way for an army of at least 200 soldiers. "Oh man..."  
  
"Why didn't guards on the tower sound the alarm?!" The right guard said as he looked up past the huge stone wall of the castle to view the main tower. It was hard to see in the dark from this distance, but with the assistance of the full moon he could see a guard slumped over the edge of the wall around the top of the tower. "URGH! They're asleep!!"  
  
"I'll try to get they're attention!" The left guard said. "ATTACK!!!!! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!!!!!"  
  
Thud.  
  
The guard who was slumped over the wall lay in heap on the grass, having been so startled when he awoke that he flew over the edge.  
---------  
Chaos arrose in the castle as the deep metallic booms of the huge warning bell reverberated through the stone halls, mushroom people running everywhere in thier night clothes scrambling to prepare for war.  
  
"PRINCESS!!!!" The chancellor screamed as he slammed open the door to her room. Before he could speak he was knocked back as a heavy vase smashed him in the head with a loud crack, causing him to fall over in a daze.  
  
"Never come in while a lady is dressing." Princess Peach said in an offended tone as she slipped on the fancy pink dress she usually wore.  
  
"Please forgive me, your highness!" the chancellor begged as he regained ballance, rubbing a large, throbbing lump on his forehead. "We must get you to a secure location!"  
  
"I refuse." Peach declared. "I will defend the kingdom along side the knights." She walked over to the window to see what was causing the uproar. From the high tower window she could see a large area of shimmering torches about half a mile away, approaching at high speed.  
  
The chancellor pleaded with the princess to go to the special bunker designed to protect royalty during battle, but the determined princess ignored him while she prepared her special bow and Fire Flower arrows.  
  
Outside, the drawbridge guards knelt on either side of a bowl of insence surrounded by candles and prayed that they wouldn't be killed imediately when the army arrived, while the tower guard struggled to move after his 30 foot fall. Through the increasingly loud rumble, creaking wagon wheels and shouting vioces could be heard as the army aproached. Their prayer complete, the bridge guards blew out the candles, stomped out the insence, picked up thier spears and prepared for battle... prepared for death.  
  
Atop the right lookout tower, a mushroom guard with a telescope looked out over the fields while another shone a searchlight into the distance.  
  
"BOWSER!" The one with the telescope shouted as the infamous turtle-like beast came into the scope's focus. The name, known all too well, echoed throughout the castle.  
  
"Bowser again..." Peach said, looking out her tower window.  
  
The chancellor wiped sweat from his forhead. "Please, your highness! We must get you to the shelter! We mustn't let Bowser kidnap you again! This time you may never return!"  
  
Peach sighed and looked at the small mushroom man with green spots on his hat. "You know the shelter is useless against Bowser. He'll just torture and kill people till I come out." She set the bow and arrows down on the bed. "I'll surrender myself peacefully. I don't want anyone to get hurt."  
  
"Nonsense!" the chancellor wailed. "We CAN defeat his army! We'll win this time!"  
  
"Chancellor..." Peach said, silencing the mushroom, "Send someone to summon Mario and Luigi, the famous plumbers who saved me last time this happened. They can get me back again, I know it."  
  
"..." said the chancellor.  
  
Peach suddenly struck a fighting pose and made a threatening expression towards the window and the army visible outside. "Don't worry, I'll keep him occupied long enough for Mario to get there. He'll regret he picked THIS princess to mess with!"  
  
The chancellor pondered knocking the princess unconscious and carrying her to the shelter, but dismissed the thought and bowed. "Very well, highness. I shall send a messenger right away!"  
  
In the weapon storage room, a young knight-in-training named Toad franticly grabbed a spear from the wall and ran stumbling out the door to catch up with the other guards. The warning bell hadn't woken him and if another guard hadn't tripped and landed on him, he'd have slept untill the enemies were inside the castle! As he ran down the hall he attempted to put on some armor over his pajamas, but got it stuck on his head. Before he could stop running to get it on properly he ran into something at full speed and flew to the floor like a rag doll.  
  
The chancellor moaned in agony and clutched an injured rib after being struck down as he reached the bottom of the stairs leading to Peach's tower.  
  
Toad dug his way out from under the armor and spear and looked to see what he hit. He gasped when he saw the chancellor dieing a few feet away. "Oh God! Chancellor!" he wailed, tears flying. He slipped around on the marble floor trying to get up, wearing socks but no shoes, and eventually just crawled over his fallen superior. "Are you okay?! I'm so sorry!!"  
  
The chancellor wheezed, having the wind knocked out of him completely. "Uough... you... damn clumsy fool..."  
  
Toad's tears flowed faster at the chancellor's words.  
  
"Urgh... M...Mario... Go find the great plumber Mario... Tell him to save Princess Peach..."  
  
Adrenaline filled Toad's chest. "B-but... we're gonna protect her highness! Bowser hasn't gotten her yet!"  
  
"Just do it! It's a direct order from her highness!" the chancellor shouted as he rolled over cluthcing his side in pain.  
  
Toad franticly slipped around in his socks on the slippery floor again, and finally got to his feet. "Yes sir!" he said with a salute, then ran full speed back down the hall to the yoshi stables.  
  
The guard watching the castle's back door suddenly found himself flying through the air before landing in a mud puddle. He hadn't heard Toad's approach because his socks provided stealthy silence as he ran through the castle's tunnels. Toad shoved him aside and ran for his designated yoshi. The small yellow dinosaur was sharing a midnight snack of hay with two other yoshis, a red and a blue. He grabbed the little dinosaur's reigns and hopped onto it's saddle.  
  
"Go Sunnie, go!" Toad said, slapping it's behind. The next thing he knew he was laying on the grass.  
  
Sunnie rubbed her sore rump and scowled at the humaniod fungus laying behind her.  
  
Toad growled and scrambled to his feet, the door guard watching from the mud. "This is important, Sunnie! The Princess' life depends on us!" He hopped back onto the saddle. "Let's go!" He said, skipping the slap this time. Sunnie looked at him reluctantly but took off at a run towards Mario's house.  
  
Telescopes were no longer needed to see the aproaching army. The bridge guards could clearly see the army, only few hundred feet away. At least 50 large yoshi-drawn catapults, all loaded with boulders or barrels of gunpowder were at the back of the group, and infront of them were another 50 wagons loaded with Koopa soldiers, all armed and battle-ready. And at the very front of the triangular formation was the glorious cariage containing the Koopa king, Bowser. The large, spike-shelled turtle sat atop his giant throne of fine red velvet lined with gold, and on either side of him were two massive gold torches, thier billowing flames illuminating his magnificent carriage. Behind him were two statues of former Koopa kings, thier golden spikes and fangs shimmering in the light from the torches. The royal carriage was drawn by a team of 5 rare black yoshis, and 5 equally rare and expensive white yoshis, arranged in a checkerboard pattern. The finest training had the yoshi's feet moving together in perfect synchronization as they marched their king towards Mushroom Castle.  
  
Finally the army came to a stop before the castle. The two bridge guards stood motionless. Not even thier hearts moved. The knights atop the castle wall drew their arrows back in preparation. Behind the wall, hidden catapults were loaded and ready to fire. Silence consumed the torchlit scene.  
  
The sound of rattling armor was loud from Mushroom castle as bowser stood up from his throne and raised a fist.  
  
"GIVE ME THE PRINCESS!" he bellowed louder than any normal-sized person could.  
  
"NEVER!" the captain of the Mushroom knights shouted back from atop the wall in his comparatively tiny voice.  
  
"I'LL GIVE YOU ONLY ONE WARNING." Bowser boomed. In a sudden motion he pointed to one of the catapults loaded with a gunpowder barrel, his heavy steel bracelets clattering. The driver pulled a lever, and the huge arm whipped upwards, launching the barrel into the right lookout tower. It exploded in a thundering fireball, blowing off the tower and part of the wall. Rocks and debris rained down on the bridge guards, followed by the smoking body of a knight who was stationed on that tower. The castle gasped in terror.  
----------  
Through the dark plains, only slightly visible because of the moon, Toad drove his yoshi as fast as it would go, his loose pajama shirt flapping behind him as he sped towards the home of the legendary Mario. What an honor it will be to meet him, he thought. Suddenly a distant rumble not unlike thunder came from the direction of the castle. He looked back to see the sky glow dim orange, making the sillouhette of the castle visible for a moment before it faded out. He stared in fearful awe.  
  
Sunnie turned an eye back, slightly worried as well. Toad returned his eyes ahead and tightened his grip on the reigns. "We must hurry, Sunnie! Hurry!" The small dinosaur sped up it's pace and dashed into the night.  
----------  
Bowser grinned a grin of thick, razor-sharp fangs.  
  
"NO!" Peach screamed as she watched from her tower, fighting the chancellor's gripping hands trying to pull her away.  
  
"PRINCESS!!!!!" the chancellor cried, desperate to save her.  
  
"QUIET!" Peach shouted, punching the chancellor to the floor. "I have to do this."  
  
The chancellor lay in silent shock on the soft red carpet.  
  
"YOU HAVE 30 SECONDS." Bowser warned, signalling the army to get ready.  
  
The captain of the Mushroom knights raised his arm. "Ready...! Aim...!"  
  
"STOP!" A high-pitched voiced called from above. All looked up to see the mushroom princess leaning out her window. "Stop fighting!"   
  
"Princess?" the knight captain said quietly.  
  
"Bowser! Cease your attack!" Peach called to the Koopa king, "I surrender!"  
  
"WHAT?!" the castle screamed in unison.  
  
Bowser cackled to himself. "Heheheh, I see you realize it's pointless to try and stop me." He sat back in his huge throne and smiled. "Very well then, come on down and I'll leave the kingdom in peace."  
  
Peach vanished from the window. The bridge guards pulled levers on either side of the closed drawbridge, and with a massive creak, the huge wooden bridge lowered, the supporting chains rattling loudly until it thumped to the ground. Peach emerged and walked across the bridge towards Bowser's giant carriage, the guards kneeling as she passed.  
  
Bowser smiled as Peach stopped at the front of his yoshi team and signalled his troops to cease her. Five small turtle-like creatures with spears descended on the princess, forcing her into a prison carriage. Peach peered through the bars and pondered her fate.  
  
"Heh! That was easier than I expected." Bowser chuckled. "TO THE CASTLE!"  
  
The rumble of wagons was again loud as the army wheeled thier yoshi teams around to face the opposite direction, and on Bowser's signal the huge triangle formation of soldiers and wagons went into an uproar of victorious shouting and rumbling wheels as they whipped their yoshis into action, and the massive army soon vasished into the shadows from which they came.  
  
The chancellor struggled to hold himself up to the window in Peach's room, his broken rib and various bruises making hard to stand. "Princess..."  
------------  
End of part 1. 


	2. Mario Adventure 02: The Journey Begins

Mario Adventure  
  
Fanfiction by LavaLizard  
  
Super Mario Bros and it's related material are copyright of Nintendo.  
  
Chapter 2: The Journey Begins  
  
------------  
Birds chirped in the bright morning sun, welcoming another beautiful day in Mushroom Kingdom. From a small cottage shaded by a large oak tree, a short, plump man with a thick black mustache wearing overalls and a red hat stepped out into the sun and stretched, taking a long breath of the cool morning air.  
  
"Yoshi!" said a green yoshi as it bounced over to it's owner.  
  
"Mornin', Yoshi!" the man said in a mild itallian accent. He patted the dinosaur's head. "Ready for some breakfast?"  
  
"Yoshi!" the dinosaur spoke the only word it knew. Mario removed the collar from Yoshi's neck, which had a long rope attached to it that was tied around the big oak tree. Yoshi smiled and skipped off to Goomba Road to hunt, while Mario headed back to the house to have some breakfast himself.  
  
Footsteps.  
  
Mario stopped at the door when he heard them and looked around. He saw a mushroom man wearing light blue pajamas riding a yoshi towards him. From the look of them they must have traveled some distance. Mario stepped off the porch to greet the curious pair.  
  
The small yellow yoshi skidded to a stop near Mario and the mushroom-man jumped off franticly, tripping over the reigns which he had just let go of. The yoshi flopped over exhausted while Mario watched curiously.  
  
Toad crawled to Mario's feet panting. "...Sir Mario! The princess! Save the princess..!"  
  
Mario gasped. "Something happened to the princess?!"  
  
Toad wheezed and clutched at Mario's overalls trying to pull himself up, but only forced Mario to bend forward. "Bowser... Bowser got her!"  
  
"BOWSER!?" Mario exclaimed, jumping back, which flung toad off his overalls and into the grass. Mario growled, remembering his past encounters with the Koopa King. This wouldn't be an easy task.  
  
Toad looked up from the grass when he heard the cottage door open. Another man in overalls with an equally thick mustache and a green hat emerged, wondering what the comotion was.   
  
"What's going out here, Mario?" Luigi asked, seeing strangers strewn about the lawn, and Mario looking stressed out.  
  
"...Bowser got Peach again." Mario said dramaticly.  
  
Luigi wailed and scampered back into the house. "NO! I don't wanna fight him again!" He shouted through the door.   
  
Toad ran inside after the green-clad plumber. "Please, Sir Luigi! You and Mario are the only ones who can defeat Boswer! If we don't get her highness back safely... who knows what will happen!"  
  
Eventually Luigi came back out following Toad. He really didn't have a choice if he wanted to live free of Bowser's control.   
  
"We sould pack our supplies and start right away." Mario said, heading for the house.   
  
Toad walked over to his yoshi who was sitting on the grass listening in on the conversation. He knelt beside the dinosaur and patted it's back. "Do you think you could spare some food for Sunnie? She ran all night and is very hungry."  
  
"Sure!" Luigi said, running into the house. He returned carrying a large pot. "We made a three-day supply of pasta last night, but we're not gonna be back in time to eat it before it spoils. Have all you like." Toad and Sunnie dug in while Luigi headed back to the house to pack his travel supplies with Mario.   
-----------  
meanwhile...  
-----------  
The last of the Koopa troops climbed off thier wagons outside Koopa Castle while others unhitched thier yoshis and led them to the stables. Inside, Bowser chuckled as he watched Princess Peach examine her cell from his security camera monitor. The 'cell' was actually more like her bedroom at Mushroom Castle than a prison, with a soft pink carpet, lovely pink curtains over the large window, and a big soft pink bed. Bowser picked up a microphone linked to Peach's chamber. "Hello, my sweet."  
  
Peach looked around surprised, then saw the security camera in the corner of the ceiling and the speaker beside it. "Bowser! What kind of kidnapping is this? Luxurious accomodations, and now calling me 'sweet'. Have you fallen in love with your arch enemy?" She asked, smirking into the camera.  
  
Bowser laughed heartily. "Actually, yes!" He said, then laughed again.  
  
"Huh?" Peach was confused.  
  
"Yes, my dear Princess Peach. I've decided to marry you!" Bowser's voice said from the speaker.  
  
Peach fell on her back. "MARRY ME?!?!?!"  
  
"That's right." Bowser said as Peach got back up and dusted herself off. "I shall marry you, and together we shall rule the Mushroom Kingdom as king and queen! Not to mention the Koopa Kingdom too!" Bowser's voice was staticy over the speaker. "Of course, I'll take care of the boring stuff like ruling and money management, and you can go play all day. Good deal, yes?"  
  
Peach growled and tightened her fists. "I will NOT marry an ASS like you!" Peach grinned. "Besides, according to law in the Mushroom Kingdom, the queen has equal power to the king. No decision can be made by only one or the other. Your plan is a failure."  
  
Bowser scowled at the monitor, then grinned. "But if the queen should get sick and die..."  
  
Peach glared at the camera. "You will NOT make me marry you. I'll kill meself if necessary to prevent it."  
  
Bowser scowled again. Peach's suicide could foil his plot. He set down the microphone and returned to the throne room to ponder.  
-------------  
Mario strapped on his tool belt and stuffed the last few supplies into his backpack and zipped it up. Luigi did the same, then the plumber brothers walked outside to begin their quest. Toad and Sunnie awaited them, fully revitalized by the pasta.  
  
Toad walked over to Mario. "Are we ready, sir?" he asked.  
  
"We'll go as soon as Yoshi gets back." Mario said in a less serious voice. He saw the green dinosaur jogging down the road towards them. "Here he comes."  
  
Yoshi stopped next to the group and looked at them curiously.   
  
"We've got work to do, Yoshi. I'll explain along the way." Mario walked around Yoshi's side and jumped into his back, followed by Luigi. Toad couldn't help noticing that Mario's yoshi was significantly larger and more muscular than his, and felt somewhat jealous as he climbed up into the little yellow dinosaur's saddle. Mario, satisfied that all were ready, raised a fist and screamed "Let's-a-GO!". The team took off down Goomba's Road at full speed, kicking up a large trail of dust.  
  
Toad looked around, then paniced when he realized Sunnie hadn't followed Mario on her own, and that they were still at Mario's house while Mario was already far down the road. Sunnie looked back at Toad, wondering why he hadn't told her to go yet.  
  
"Sunnie!" Toad screamed as he watched Mario speed into the distance. "Go, go, go!" Sunnie sped off after Mario's yoshi as fast she could, though it didn't look like she was going to catch up unless Mario slowed down.  
-------------  
Peach turned from the window she was looking out when she heard the heavy door lock clank open, and stood firmly as two turtle-like koopa troopas carrying spears walked in and took their positions on either side of the door. Then a third came in carrying a large tray of pancakes and other breakfast foods. "Breakfast is served, your highness-to-be." the koopa said with a bow, then headed for the door.  
  
"Wait!" Peach said, causing the red-shelled turtle to stop and look back. "Come over here and take a bite of this to prove it's not poisoned." she ordered.  
  
The koopa, having not seen the breakfast's ingredients, became a bit nervous knowing that it really might be poison. He thought for a few seconds, then had an idea. "Th-that's the chef's duty! I'll go ask him to come taste it for you." He started for the door but was cut off by Bowser's voice over the speaker.  
  
"Magma!" the king yelled loudly, though it sounded quiet over the cheap speaker. The koopa quicky stopped and stood up straight, facing the camera in the corner of the ceiling. Bowser's voice continued through the static. "Do as she says! Future Queen Peach's orders are to be obeyed at all times!"  
  
"Y-yes sir!" the koopa said with a salute to the camera. He quicky walked to the table and took a bite of pancake.  
  
Peach watched for signs of poisoning, as well as the koopa. After 30 seconds he was still standing and felt normal, or better than before, as the pancake was quite tasty.  
  
"I guess it's not poison, huh?" the koopa said smiling, relieved to be alive. He started to leave but was again interupted.  
  
"You'll stay here for thirty minutes, tortise." She ordered. "The poison could be slow to respond."   
  
The koopa felt a twinge of fear at the thought, and at the same time was annoyed to be stuck here for half an hour. "Fine, fine. I'll stay." He said, trudging to the bed. Suddenly something struck him hard in the face. It was the princess' white gloved-hand.  
  
"Show some respect, lowly troopa!" Peach shouted harshly.  
  
Magma rubbed his cheek, surprised that such a frail hand could deliver such a powerful blow. He regained his balance, having been nearly knocked over, and bowed to Peach. "Yes, my leige-to-be, I shall remain here for thirty minutes as you have requested, to provide proof of your meal's edibility."  
  
"Better." Peach said, smiling.  
  
Magma sat down on the end of the bed and took a watch out of his shell to time 30 minutes. Peach returned to the window, waiting for her hero to arrive.  
-----------  
Mario held on to his hat as Yoshi sped along Goomba's Road to keep it from flying off in the wind. "We need to pick up some Fire Flowers before we head for Bowser's Castle." he informed Luigi, who was wondering why they were headed away from the castle. "There's a garden at the end of the road that has a bunch of them."  
  
Luigi Looked around the pretty trees and large mushrooms speeding past him, then realized something was missing. "Umm... Wasn't Toad coming with us?" he asked, seeing no sign of the little mushroom man or the yellow yoshi. Mario looked around too, also unable to find the pajama-clad fungus.  
  
-----------  
"We'll never catch them at this rate!" Toad whined, riding through the last fading wisps of the dust trail Mario's yoshi was producing. Sunnie ran as fast as she could, but her not-so-powerful legs weren't gaining any distance on the mighty yoshi Mario rode. Toad could only see a small dot in the distance where the dust cloud grew from. "Faster, Sunnie!" he said, nudging the dinosaur forward. Sunnie snuffed at Toad's lack of maturity but still put out a little more effort for him, since she wanted to catch Mario too.  
------------  
"Hey Yoshi," Mario said, "slow down a sec. I think we lost Toad."  
  
Yoshi looked back, seeing that the small yoshi must not have been as fast as him, and slowed to a stop. He turned around to see if they were coming.  
  
"There they are!" Luigi said, pointing to a growing dot moving along the winding country road.  
  
"Wow, you're faster than I thought, Yoshi!" Mario said, smiling and patting the dinosaur's back.   
  
The trio waited a minute for Toad to catch up. Eventually the small yellow dinosaur skidded to a stop beside the plumbers, panting.  
-----------  
"Hey Yoshi," Mario said, "slow down a sec. I think we lost Toad."  
  
Yoshi looked back, seeing that the small yoshi must not have been as fast as him, and slowed to a stop. He turned around to see if they were coming.  
  
"There they are!" Luigi said, pointing to a growing dot moving along the winding country road.  
  
"Wow, you're faster than I thought, Yoshi!" Mario smiled.  
  
The trio waited a few minutes for Toad to catch up, then turned and continued down the road slowly while the little yellow yoshi came up beside them and slowed to a walk.  
  
"Sorry about that." Mario said, scratching his head. "I didn't realize how fast Yoshi is."  
  
"No, it's not your fault, Sir Mario!" Toad said guiltily. "I forgot to tell Sunnie to follow you and got way behind." He patted the panting yellow dinosaur on the shoulder. "She's very obedient and dosn't move if I don't say so." He looked around and then noticed they were headed away from Bowser's Castle. "Why are we going this direction? Bowser's Castle is back that way." He said, pointing behind him.  
  
"We need to get some Fire Flowers before we go." Mario informed the fungus. He pointed to a fenced-in area just ahead where the road ended. "There's a nice patch of them in that garden up ahead."  
  
Yoshi stopped at the fence cutting the road off and Mario and Luigi hopped down from his back. Toad slid down from his saddle, taking a step to keep his balance. Mario unlatched the fence and stepped through. "Let's-a-go. There's goombas in here, so be on guard." Luigi nodded and prepared to fight if necessary.  
  
Toad entered the gate behind Yoshi, followed by Sunnie who went through last. His heart sped up as he scanned the area for goombas. Small mushroom-like creatures they were, not humanoid like Toad though. Just a 12-inch-high mushroom with a sharp-toothed face on it's round canopy, and stumpy legs beneath it. Not much of a challenge for big tough guys like Mario and Luigi, but for a weak, three-foot mushroom man it was equal to a ferocious wolf. The group walked quietly along a straight path through the Goomba Garden, surrounded on either side by tall, brightly colored flowers and mushrooms which bees and grasshoppers buzzed about.  
  
"Where are these Fire Flowers you told us about?" Toad whispered, not wanting to attract goombas.  
  
"We go straight down this path all the way to the end," Luigi explained, "and then turn left and there's a little grove of them behind some rocks... if I remember right."   
  
Toad gulped as he looked around the plumbers infront of him and down the trail. It was long, and he could sense hungry goomba eyes watching him from every direction. He moved close to Sunnie, who's eyes shifted back and forth cautiously wacthing for sneak-attacks.  
----------  
Magma, the koopa troopa Peach was using as a guinnea pig, looked impatiently at his watch. He sighed and leaned back on his hands with 10 minutes to go before he was allowed to leave. Peach sat on the large bed across from her test subject, her back to him, waiting for him to show signs of poisoning. Magma tapped his feet boredly on the side of the soft matress and tried to start a conversation to pass the time. "So, you gonna marry King Bowser?" he asked without looking back at Peach.  
  
Peach leaped up and whirled around to face Magma's back. "NEVER!!" She screamed, infuriated by the thought.  
  
Magma ducked and pulled his head part way into his shell at the sudden noise behind him. "...o-oh...." He mumbled, keeping a cautious eye on his future queen as he tried again to converse. "So like, you got a plan to escape or somethin'?"  
  
"Hmph!" Peach snuffed, turning her back and crossing her arms. "Like I'd tell you, so you can go report it to ol' King Fatass and make it a thousand times harder to get out of this shack."  
  
Magma and Peach both turned thier attention to the speaker up in the corner when a static sound came from it. "...Fatass?" Bowser's voice said in a hurt tone.  
  
"Yes, Fatass!" Peach screamed at the camera. "Haven't you noticed that you're 10 times the size of normal koopas?" she said, pointing to the red-shelled turle creature sitting on the bed.  
  
Magma stood up on the bed and interrupted before Bowser could reply. "That's because he's the ULTIMATE king of all koopas!" he praised, hoping to gain the king's favor. "None can match his awesome size and power!"  
  
Bowser puffed out his chest and grinned, though nobody could see him. "Yes, I've noticed my size difference. But it's all muscle, you see, not fat." Peach scowled at the camera and started to say something, but Bowser continued before she could. "Now if you'll excuse me, sweet, I have a wedding to prepare for. Ciao!" The speaker clicked and was silent.  
  
Magma dropped into a sitting position, bouncing on the puffy bed, pleased that he had helped Bowser's good mood. This would better his chances of getting a troopa bonus or even a pay raise. He picked up his watch as his bounce faded away and checked the time. "Hey! Check it out! Thirty minutes are up and I feel fine!" He slid off the bed and headed for the door. "Later, Peach."  
  
"You get back here, shell-boy." Peach ordered, making Magma kringe.  
  
"...Yes..?"  
  
"Take this food away. I'm not eating after a filthy turtle like you. Besides, it's cold now."  
  
Magma clenched his fists and teeth, imagining peach being shot in the head with a shotgun, but turned and stiffly walked to the table and picked up the tray.  
  
"And change my sheets." Peach continued. "You got your foul koopa smell all over them."  
  
The breakfast tray rattled as Magma fought agaist his arm to prevent it from hurling the tray into that obnoxious bitch's face. He took a deep breath to regain control over his body and went to work on pulling off the bed sheet with one hand while balancing the heavy tray in the other.  
----------  
Mario and friends stood perfectly still, having heard a rustling sound in the flowery shrubs. Mario, Luigi and Yoshi stood battle-ready, eyes shifting and ears open, as well as little Sunnie, though she was a bit nervous having no experience with goombas or fighting in general. Toad stood as close to Sunnie as he could, clutching her reigns and trembling.  
  
The sound came again, this time louder and from all around the group. Toad screamed when about a dozen mushroom-like goombas creapt out of the flowers and surrounded them.  
  
"Attack!" Mario shouted, leaping forward with a kick that sent a goomba flying. Everyone except Toad went into battle with the scampering, biting little monsters, stomping or kicking them away before they could get thier sharp teeth on anyone.  
  
"Yoshi!" Yoshi said as his long, sticky tounge shot out and attached to a goomba before snapping back into his mouth like a rubber band. He swallowed the fungal creature whole and then repeated the process on another.  
  
Sunnie dealt a jumping front-kick to a goomba's face, falling smack on her butt after it as she'd never tried such a move before. As she clutched her throbbing backside, she watched in amazement as Yoshi licked up one goomba after another, not even getting fat as the 12-inch diameter round creatures dissapeared into his throat. Toad was equally amazed.   
  
Suddenly Sunnie's fascination by Yoshi was cut aff when another goomba popped out and scurried towards her, tooth-filled mouth open wide. She quicky got up off the dusty path and punched the biting creature back, though her scrawny yoshi arms barely effected it. Before her fight could resume, Luigi bounded right over her head from behind and came slamming down ontop of her foe, squashing it flat.  
  
The group battled with stomps and kicks and Yoshi's tounge for another minute, kicking up quite a cloud of dust before the goombas finally stopped coming.  
  
Mario wiped some sweat his brow. "Woo!" he said, exhaling a deep breath.  
  
Yoshi belched and patted his stomach. "Yoshi!"  
  
Sunnie dusted off her rear as the group gathered back together, while Toad sat in a daze on the ground, his heart still pounding. Suddenly he realized that everyone was staring at him and quickly got to his feet. He looked over at the big green yoshi beside Mario. "How can he eat so much?" Toad asked, still in amazement of the dinosaur's abilities. "And eating them ALIVE. It seems impossible!"  
  
Mario smiled and patted Yoshi's back. "Dunno how he does it, but it's sure handy."  
  
Toad turned to his yellow yoshi and asked, "You can't eat like that, can you?"   
  
Sunnie shook her head 'no', then looked over at Mario who had started back down the path and jogged over to follow him, Toad running after her.  
  
After a bit of walking the group finally reached the back of the garden, and to thier left, as Luigi remembered, there was a short path between the fence and the tall flowers, blocked off by a large boulder. "Yeah, right over this rock." Luigi said, climbing up.  
  
Mario climbed up after Luigi, followed by Yoshi and then Sunnie, with Toad in the rear. The plumbers and Yoshi hopped off the other side one after the other as they got to the top in single file. Sunnie was almost over but was having some trouble getting on top, her feet skidding on the side of the boulder as she clung to the grass on the top with her short yoshi arms, kicking little pebbles in Toad's face and causing him to loose his grip. He slid down the side to the ground and then fell on his back. "Sunnie!" He yelled angrilly.  
  
Sunnie stopped running in place and looked down over her shoulder to see her friend struggling to stand up. She smiled apologeticly while clinging to the short grass, then looked up when she heard feet above her. Mario was standing on top of the boulder with his hands on his hips, smiling at his less travel-experienced friends.   
  
"Grab on." Mario said, bending over and holding a gloved hand out to the struggling yellow dinosaur.  
  
Sunnie gripped Mario's hand and scrambled up while the plumber lifted with surprising strength. Toad gave her a push from behind attempting to help, but only managed to get another face full of dust and pebbles. He managed to hold on this time though. Mario patted the little dinosaur's rump as she passed him to go down the other side, then helped Toad up by simply lifting the light weight mushroom up by an arm and setting him down on top of the rock.   
  
Luigi admired the grove of glowing orange flowers as they swayed in the breeze, soon joined by Sunnie, dusting herself off after she made her way down, and then Mario who jumped down with Toad riding piggy-back. Mario squatted to let the little mushroom man slide to the ground, then joined Luigi in admiring. Toad slapped the dust from his pajamas, and he and Yoshi also turned their gaze to the glowing garden. Mario stepped forward and picked a flower.  
------------  
End of part 2. 


	3. Mario Adventure 03: Warriors of Fire

--------Mario Adventure---------  
  
Chapter 3: Warriors of Fire.  
WHOOM!  
  
Luigi, Toad, Sunnie, and Yoshi shielded their eyes as Mario's very flesh emitted a blinding, flickering light after making contact with the glowing orange Fire Flower. After a few seconds the blaze of white flickered out, and Mario stood before the group with tiny flames dancing on his body.  
  
"WHOA!!" Toad exclaimed, having never seen such a thing before. He stared with wide eyes as Mario's clothes seemed to burn but without turning black or hurting his body. He also noticed that Mario's red hat and shirt had somehow turned white and his blue overalls were now red.  
  
The group covered thier eyes again as Luigi touched a flower. He too emitted a blinding light before standing with the same little flames as Mario, and his green hat and shirt had also become white, but his overalls turned green. Toad marveled the two warriors of fire.   
  
"Doesn't it hurt?" Toad asked, indicating the fact that the plumbers were aflame. "And how did your clothes change color like that?"  
  
"The flowers' magic makes your body invulnerable to heat." Mario explained as he brushed out the flames on his arms. "I guess inanimate objects change color when exposed to the magic." Mario said with a shrug.  
  
Toad got down on his hands and knees to examine a flower. It was about six inches wide, and had a six-inch stem which grew from between two big, thick leaves. The bright orange petals emmited a dim firey glow. "Is it safe for mushrooms?"   
  
"It should be." Mario said, wiggling his fingers for some reason. "It may not do anything though." he continued, pointing his palm towards the fence. "They don't work on yoshis, so the magic might only effect humans."  
  
"Hmm..." Toad mumbled, looking back at the flower.  
  
"Watch this if you wanna see what's really cool about Fire Flowers." Mario said, concentrating on his outstretched hand. Toad looked up excitedly, and Sunnie watched curiously. Luigi and Yoshi had seen it many times in the past so they weren't intrested much. Mario continued to hold out his hand, and then Toad's eyes nearly popped out when a ball of yellow-orange fire shot from Mario's palm and exploded with a bang on the other side of the fence.  
  
"OOHH!!" Toad exclaimed in shocked amazement, rubbing his eyes to get them resituated in thier sockets. "That's incredible!" He crouched down to the flower he'd been examining. "May I?"  
  
"Why not?" Mario asked, wiggling his smoking fingers again.  
  
Toad's excitement built as he reached out and touched the glowing blossom. The flower exploded in plume of black smoke and was gone.   
  
Toad sat silently with round eyes and a black face. Mario and Luigi stared with thier mouths open, and Yoshi and Sunnie just stared. Toad's head slowly pivoted to look miserably at Mario.  
  
"I... guess it doesn't work on mushrooms after all..." Mario said, still staring at the little mushroom sitting in a cirlce of black ashes.  
  
Toad wobbled to his feet, still shaken by the flower's unexpected reaction. He shook his head and began slapping puffs of soot out of his pajamas. Sunnie stepped closer with large eyes, making sure he was okay. Toad continued to groom himself, eyes still round, not showing any response to the stares he was getting.   
  
"I've never seen a Fire Flower blow up like that." Luigi said, taking a step towards Toad. "Are you okay?"  
  
"...yeah." Toad said, his shock beginning to fade. He continued to slap clouds of black dust from his body and face, though he didn't seem to be getting any cleaner.  
  
"Perhaps we should make a quick stop at the house to give you a bath before we go after Bowser." Mario suggested, grabbing onto the boulder to climb back over.  
  
"Thanks." Toad said, giving up on removing the blackness. "But we can't keep her highness waiting for long." Mario stood on top of the large rock helping Sunnie and Toad up, then Luigi and Yoshi went over and the group headed off for Mario's house, which was on the way to Bowser's castle.  
----------  
Peach stood up from the bed as her chamber door creaked open and two green-shell koopas with spears came in. They each took guarding positions on either side of the door, and then the familiar red-shell koopa came in carrying the fresh food and sheets she had ordered. She carefully inspected the four and half foot tall turtle's behavior as he slowly lowered the tray of breakfast food onto the table, being careful not to spill it, then went to work putting the sheets on the bed.  
  
The koopa finished his work and then bowed to princess, who looked down at him over her crossed arms.   
  
Peach smiled at the koopa's obedience. "Thank you. You can leave now." She gestured for the turtle to go away.  
  
Magma bowed again and left the room, followed by the green-shell guards who closed the door behind them.  
  
Peach, now satisfied that Bowser had no intention of poisoning her, sat down for some much needed breakfast.  
-----------  
Elsewhere in the castle, the main hall was being decorated with balloons, crepe paper, and elaborate bouquets of flowers in preparation for the King's wedding. Magma came down the stairs from Peach's room into the hall, and looked up at the tall arched cieling as koopas on ladders ladders hung the decorations with care. Behind the huge polished wood doors at the back of the hall was the vast throne room, which was being decorated even more extravagantly as this would be where the wedding would actually take place. Bowser walked around amid the scurrying koopas and scaffolding inspecting the work.  
  
"Excelent." Bowser said to the decoration director, who donned a white shell and carried a clip board with elaborate blueprints on it.  
  
The director bowed with a sly smile. "Thank you, your majesty." He put his hands on his hips and looked up at the koopa workers hanging flags and crepe paper on the cieling. "It shall be the greatest wedding ceremony ever held."  
  
Bowser smiled evilly and then left the room to go check up on his bride-to-be.  
-----------  
Sunnie squeaked as icy cold water from the garden hose poured over her. Luigi picked up a rag and began scrubbing her back, as she had become covered in soot from Toad's body when he rode her back to the house. Inside, Mario worked the blackness from Toad's pajamas in the kitchen sink, while Toad washed himself in the tub. Yoshi sat in the shade of the plumbers' large oak tree, snapping his long red tounge out to grab acorns which were scattered around the grass.  
  
Mario finished cleaning the mushroom's garments, then used his Fire Flower power to heat and dry them in a few seconds, creating cloud of steam. Outside, Luigi turned off the hose and dried Sunnie with a towel. He strapped her saddle and reigns back on and gave her a pat on the back. "There you go, little yoshi."   
  
Sunnie smiled happilly and then turned to the house as Toad and Mario came out, the mushroom looking clean and revitalized.  
  
Toad hopped into Sunnie's saddle energeticly and smiled. "Now, time to save the princess!"  
  
"Right!" Mario said as Yoshi got up and ran over to him. The fire-powered plumbers jumped onto the big green dinosaur's back and Mario raised a fist. "Let's-a-GO!" the red and white-suited plumber shouted, sending the group charging into the grassy plains in the direction of Koopa Kingdom. This time Toad remembered to give Sunnie a little nudge, signalling her to go with the others so they wouldn't be left in the dust again.  
------------  
Mushroom Castle was in an uproar as it's residents argued over what to do about the tragedy that had befallen thier kingdom.  
  
"We should wage war on the Koopa Kingdom and destroy it!" a mushroom knight shouted, raising his fist.  
  
"Mario will save the princess! We should stay out of his way!" yelled a servant.  
  
"Our army can't compete against Bowser!"   
  
"Desrtoy the koopas!"  
  
The chancellor of Mushroom Kingdom appeared on the balcony overseeing the courtyard where everyone had gathered. "SILENCE!!" he bellowed, then groaned and doubled over clutching the bandage on his side where his rib fracture was, the heave of his lungs causing extreme pain. The comotion below him ceased and all eyes turned up and waited for him to reappear over the balcony's short wall.  
  
"Ahem..." the chancellor cleared his throat, regaining his composure. "As you know, last night our beloved Princess Peach was abducted by the evil Koopa King, Bowser. The reason behind this atrocity is still unknown, but we can be certain from past attacks by the Koopa King that his intention is the downfall of our kingdom."  
  
"What are our plans for retaliation?" a soldier mushroom asked.  
  
"Will Peach live?" another concerned mushroom asked. Soon the crowd was a mass of voices all asking questions at the same time.  
  
"QUIET!!" "AOUGH!!" the chancellor screamed before dissapearing behind the balcony wall again. Silence and order overcame the mushroom mob as they waited for their new leader to continue.   
  
Eventually the chancellor let go of his side and returned to his normal dignified self. "Before being captured, her highness requested for a messenger to be sent to attain the service of the plumber heroes, Mario and his brother Luigi." He bowed his head before continuing. "Her orders were for us not to fight and to leave her rescue in Mario's hands."  
  
"No! Two men can't beat Bowser alone! It's impossible!" argued a knight.  
  
"We want to help! She can't be serious!"  
  
The crowd went into yet another uproar.  
  
The chancellor left for a moment and returned dragging a large gong. Rather than screaming himself to near death again, he whacked the gong with a thick board, causing an ear-shattering clang. All went silent and returned thier attention to the balcony.  
  
"Peach's orders must be carried out nomatter what. We will not retaliate, and will leave the matter in the hands of the plumbers." Mumbling spread throughout the crowd. "However, should the two happen to fail, we must be ready to take our own action. Intensive military training will commense this afternoon, as well as development of new weapons. Go to your rank captains for further details and to begin assignments. Dismissed!" the chancellor finished with a salute and left the balcony as the crowd dispersed below.  
-------------  
Peach wiped her mouth with a napkin and then stood up from the bed after finishing her meal of pancakes and milk, then walked to the door and peeked through the tiny window in it to see if anyone was around to take away her dirty dishes. She turned her head when static sound came the speaker in the corner of the ceiling at the back of the room.  
  
"Do you need something, my dear?" Bowser's voice said in scratchy audio.  
  
"I don't want dirty old dishes cluttering up my room." Peach said, turning her nose up in disgust. "Remove them at once."   
  
Bowser flipped a switch on the security room's control pannel so his voice could be heard throughout the castle as he spoke into the microphone, rather than just in Peach's room. All in the castle turned thier ears' attention to the static-plagued voice of the king as it echoed around the vast stone halls from old, outdated speakers which were distributed throughout the castle.   
  
"Troopa number 78, Magma, report to Future Queen Peach's room at once."   
  
Magma lowered the heavy sword he was training with and turned his head to listen when he heard his number over the intercom. He frowned and returned the blade to it's hanger on the rock wall of the castle's cafeteria, where he passed the time between Peach's orders practicing his sword tecniques. The cafeteria was big, and the tables and chairs were perfect for practicing difficult moves envolving jumps or obstacles. It was between breakfast and lunch, so the room was dark and abandoned now except for the clatter coming from the kitchen at the back where the cooks and dish washers were hard at work in preparation for the lunch rush. Magma stepped into the light coming though the door from upstairs where the main hall was being decorated, then walked up the steps and into the forest of scaffolding and ladders. He weaved his way through the chaos, and dodging scurrying koopas with armloads of building supplies, and the occasional falling tool or paintbrush from the workers above. Eventually he made it to the staircase leading to the second floor where Peach's room was, but not without adding another scratch to his battle-worn shell.  
  
Peach waited next to the table as the lock clanked and the chamber door creaked open, and watched her red-shelled servant enter and bow. "You called, madam?" the turle asked, faking respect.  
  
Peach pointed at the tray of dishes on her table. "Remove this eye-sore at once. I will not have my room looking like a garbage dump."  
  
Magma bowed again and picked up the tray. It was heavy and he had a hard time getting it to stop wobbling on his hand. Once balanced he started to turn for the door, but something was wrong. He whirled around just in time to see the end of Peach's pink dress trail out through the door.  
------------  
Yoshi and Sunnie, ridden by Mario, Luigi, and Toad, sprinted at full speed across the open fields of Doughnut Plains, the cool spring breeze causing the grass to sway in waves as if water. Mario held on his hat and smiled as he looked up at small puffy clouds in the sky. Even though the mission was serious, he couldn't help loving the adevnture.   
  
Toad's adrenaline was flowing as his little yoshi struggled to keep up with the powerhouse Yoshi. He never imagined adventure would be this hard and dangerous. Already he'd been nearly eaten and couldn't even climb a relatively small boulder. As he thought he looked up at the puffy clouds, and for a second he could swear he saw a strange face peeking over one before it vanished.   
  
"Mario!" the mushroom man said when he saw the face.  
  
Mario looked back, leaning to the side to see around Luigi who rode behind him. "What is it, Toad?" the plumber asked, knowing from experience that this was probably something important. He slowed Yoshi down just a little so Toad could ride up beside him.  
  
"That cloud..." Toad said, pointing to a particularly small and low-flying cloud "It looked like there was a creature or something on top of it..."  
  
Yoshi stopped running and Sunnie continued on until Toad franticly tugged the reigns to stop her. Sunnie jogged back to Mario, who stood next to Yoshi staring at the cloud with apparent concern. Toad slid off the saddle and looked up. "Is it a monster?" he asked nervously.  
  
"I think it's a Lakitu." Mario said, studying the drifting white puff.  
  
Luigi slid down from Yoshi's back and looked all around the sky, as Lakitu usually attacked in groups. Sunnie looked around worriedly to try and find whatever Luigi and Mario were so concerned about. Yoshi watched the cloud with a smile, looking hungry.  
  
"What's a Lakitu?" Toad asked, turning to Mario.  
  
Mario kept his gaze fixed on the cloud. "Bowser's sky attackers. They look like clouds so you don't know they're there till they attack."  
  
Toad's eyes became saucers and he took a step closer to Mario. Sunnie couldn't help inching a little closer as well. Mario held out his palm.  
  
"Only one way to know for sure." The red and white-suited plumber drew his gloved hand back in preparation to throw. "Get ready incase they attack!" Mario forcefully swung his hand forward, launching a ball of yellow and orange fire into the sky towards the little cloud.   
  
Toad paniced and was instantly clinging to Luigi's green overalls with his eyes closed as the fireball seared through the air.  
  
A loud bang was heard as the ball hit with a plume of flame, incinerating the cloud. All eyes widened as a black and charred body fell from the remains of the small explosion, leaving a trail of smoke and embers. It hit the ground near the Mario team with a thud and a cloud of ashes and sparks. Small flames began to lap at it's blackened form.  
  
The group ran over to the body, Toad flying into the grass as the plumber he clung to sped off and jerked him over in the process.  
  
"It was a Lakitu!" Mario said, looking at the smoking corpse and then the sky as his pajama-clad partner ran over. Toad looked up just in time to see two of the puffy clouds in the sky suddenly zip off in the direction of Bowser's castle. Mario frowned. "Darn. Bowser knows we're coming now."  
  
"What are we gonna do?" Toad asked.  
  
Mario climbed onto Yoshi's back. "Don't worry. If the koopas attack, we can beat 'em." Mario raised a fist and grinned. "That's why brought Fire Flower power!"  
------------  
Chaos arose in Bowser's castle as the escaped princess bolted through the main hall, pushing over ladders and koopas as she passed them on her way to the front gate. Tools, building supplies, and flailing bodies rained down around Magma as he franticly chased the prisoner he had been assigned to guard.  
  
"Somebody stop her!!" Magma yelled, dodging a toppling scaffold. Two koopa guards up ahead jumped out infront of Peach, using their sharp spears to block her.  
  
Peach made a quick right turn to avoid the spears infront of her and grabbed the leg of another scaffold, ripping it out and causing the structure to fall on the guards.  
  
Magma lunged to grab the princess while she wasn't running, but she jumped up just in time to evade him and the red-shelled turtle landed painfully on the rocky floor. Peach came down with a heavy stomp on Magma's back, launching him from his shell as she bounced off of it, then landed on the koopa's now unprotected body with her pointy high-heel shoes. She moved to continue running but froze when Bowser's huge, spiked form thundered into the hall through the giant door of the throne room.  
  
Bowser looked anything but happy as he viewed the devastation in the main hall. It looked more like the work of a tornado than a princess. Broken ladders and decorations covered the floor, and koopas were either in a daze or unconscious. Bowser glared at the princess and the twitching deshelled troopa on the ground beside her and growled.  
  
"SEIZE HER!!" Bowser's massive voice echoed deafeningly through the hall, causing all conscious troopas to shudder in fear.  
  
Peach punched and kicked koopas as fast as she could as the troops descended on her, but eventually she was overwhelmed and found herself restrained. Bowser loomed over her and scowled.  
  
"I want TEN guards at her door at all times." Bowser ordered angrilly. "Anyone who lets her pass them should prepare for death!"  
  
The three troopas holding Peach ducked back nervously and tightened thier grips on the princess' arms. "Yes sir!" they said, carefully dragging the kicking princess away. Several troopas took off their tool belts and aprons and followed the group up to Peach's room to make sure she couldn't get away.  
  
Magma gasped for air, his lungs flattened by Peach's dagger-like heels, fearing death from the wound as much as the punishment Bowser was certainly plotting. He tried to talk but could only produce a half groan, half choking sound.  
  
Without moving, Bowser examined the two deep dents in troopa #78's light orange flesh. It appeared as though Peach's heels nearly stabbed through the skin, which could have been fatal as it would have punctured both lungs. He grinned with eyes less evil than one would expect and put his thick arms behind his spike-covered back. "I think you've recived adiquate punishment, Number 78. Just remember that the lava pits are awaiting your next failure." He turned and walked away with floor-shaking steps.  
  
"Th-ank you... Si-r..." Magma managed to wheeze it out before Bowser was too far away to hear. The Koopa King raised a hand acknowledging him, his heavy steel bracelets clattering. Magma's breathing ability slowly faded back and he took a deep breath, then struggled to his feet, trying not to move his injured back. He picked up his red shell and then looked up to listen as Bowser began to speak.  
  
"I want this place cleaned up and back to work on the wedding before sunset." the Koopa King ordered without raising his voice, as it was naturally big enough to be heard by all. "Take shifts guarding Peach throughout the day. If I find her with less than ten guards, ever, everyone's pay will be cut in half for the next month. Do I make myself clear?"  
  
"YES SIR!" the troops said simultaniously, then hurried to work on the cleanup and repair. Magma stretched left and right, popping various dislocated bones and muscles back into position, then crawled back into his shell before he got too many more weird looks for standing there in his underwear. He went up the stairs to Peach's room to direct the less experienced guards in protecting their captive.  
-----------  
Mario and co. sped across the grassy plains, continuing their quest to Bowser's castle. Toad gazed out ahead, relived to see many trees and a distant forest. He had begun to wonder if the fields of Doughnut Plains were actually endless. Mario, too, viewed the scenery before them, but his sharper eye cought something of great intrest.  
  
"A pipe!" Mario exclaimed, pointing to a shiny green cylinder up ahead.   
  
"A pipe?" Toad asked curiously, riding up beside Yoshi.  
  
"Right here." Mario said, slowing Yoshi to a stop by the large piece of plumbing protruding from the tall grass.  
  
Sunnie ran a bit past it and had to pull a u-turn back to the plumbers and the big green yoshi. Toad slid off her back, wobbling a bit but not quite falling over, then walked over to the pipe and stood on his toes to try and peek in. Mario and Luigi were looking down into the blackness, evaluating it with obvious expertise.  
  
"Hmm..." Mario muttered. He held out his hand over the pipe and a small fire ball popped from his palm, illuminating the shadowy tunnel. Mario watched the flickering sphere bounce down the curved pipe untill the glow was no longer visible. "It's safe to slide down..."  
  
Toad looked nervously at Mario. "Umm... why would we want to go down there, sir? Shouldn't we be saving the princess?"  
  
Mario turned from the pipe to face the short mushroom man. "Well, if we travel underground, Bowser's troops might not be able to find us."  
  
"Oh..! That's a good idea, sir! I never thought of that." Toad said, relieved that he wouldn't have to risk life an limb in a fight with the koopa troopas.  
  
Mario grinned playfully. "And a lot of caves are full of rare treasures, too!"  
  
Toad smiled anxiously. "Let's go for it!"  
  
Mario looked back at the large green pipe. "Caves can be dangerous though. Bats, lava, pitfalls... you never know."  
  
Toad's heart sank.   
  
Luigi climbed up and sat on the edge of the pipe with his feet dangling in. "I say we go for it. Either way we'll face dangers, but Bowser's troops may be tougher now than in the past, so the cave is probably safer."   
  
Mario nodded. "Alright. Cave it is!"  
------------  
End of Part 3.  
Fanfiction by LavaLizard  
  
Mario Bros and it's related material copyright by Nintendo. 


	4. Mario Adventure 04: The Caves of Mario W...

--------Mario Adventure---------  
  
Chapter 4: The Caves of Mario World  
Mario and friends stood around the large green pipe, surrounded on all sides by a vast field of tall grass which swayed gracefully in the late morning breeze. Small puffy clouds drifted peacefully overhead, shadowing out the warm sun from time to time.   
  
"Alright. Cave it is!" Mario said, raising a fist.  
  
Luigi hopped down into the darkness, sliding down the angled pipe and vanishing from sight. Mario listened carefully. The sound of overalls against metal was cut off by the sound of work shoes against gravel. Luigi's voice echoed from the pipe. "All clear!"  
  
Mario looked back the mushroom and two yoshis. "Who's next?"  
  
Toad and Sunnie looked at each other, then Toad stepped forward. "I'll go."  
  
Mario picked the mushroom up under his arms and lifted him over the edge of the pipe, as Toad was too short to climb in on his own. "Ready?"  
  
Toad gazed down into the pitch black void of death over which he was suspended. A light breeze whistled quietly from the opening, ruffling Toad's light pajamas. It was a feeling like staring into the mouth of a dragon as it prepared to eat you. Toad closed his eyes and nodded for Mario to let go.  
  
Mario held back a smile as a high-pitched shriek of terror echoed from the tunnel, fading away as the mushroom slid down. He turned to the little yellow dinosaur who looked at him hesitantly. "Next?"  
  
Sunnie paused for a moment before walking forward. Luigi did sound perfectly okay when he gave the all clear, but there had to be something bad in there to provoke such a wail from Toad. He did have a habbit of panicing at innapropriate times, though. Sunnie took a deep breath and gathered up some courage and stepped forward.  
  
"Don't worry." Mario said as the dinosaur walked up to the pipe. "It's not that scary. Just be ready to catch yourself at the end." Mario helped the little yoshi scramble up to sit on the edge of the pipe and then patted her on the back. "Hop on in!"  
  
Sunnie gazed into the darkness and sniffed the cool, damp air blowing up from below her. It smelled like wet dirt and rocks. She felt a lot better when she didn't smell monsters or anything dangerous, and soon vanished into the pipe.  
  
Toad slapped damp dirt and sand from his aching rump as he stood in the dim orange glow of the fireball Luigi held for light, having not caught himself at the bottom of the pipe. Luigi managed to hold back laughter but couldn't keep a straight face. Toad scowled but felt unworthy to curse at a hero of Luigi's calibur, heartless as he may be. The two turned thier attention to the pipe protruding from the cavern's muddy rocky wall when the sound of sliding echoed increasingly loud from it. The small yellow yoshi flew out at high speed, catching herself with her feet, but her momentum was too great and she tipped forward and landed with an echoing whap on her face.  
  
"Sunnie!" Toad cried as he ran to his fallen companion. He put a hand on her back and leaned close to see if she was alive. "Are you okay?"  
  
The dinosaur groaned and pushed up with her hands into an upright sitting position on the damp sandy floor and shook her head, then nodded that she wasn't seriously hurt. As she got to her feet and began swiping sand and dirt from herself, Yoshi emerged from the green pipe, squeezing his way out as it was a tight fit for such a big yoshi. Mario soon followed and the group headed down the dark tunnel, led by Luigi with his fireball light.  
-----------  
Koopas crowded the hall around Peach's chamber door as she was shoved through it. Once securely locked, the koopa crew began bolting numerous heavy iron locks to the door to ensure their safety. An escape meant a trip to the lava pits for all of them, and noone wanted that. Inside, Peach glared at the door snarling.  
  
"You think those puny locks can stop me?!" Peach growled with tight fists. She turned her head to the speaker in the corner of the ceiling when static sound came from it once again.  
  
"Let's not have any more of this escaping business, yes?" Bowser's voice said faintly through the static.  
  
Peach whirled around furiously and shook a fist at the camera. "Just watch me, Cactus-ass! I'll be out of here before sunset! And next time you won't stop me!"  
  
"...Cactus?" Bowser asked meekly. He leaned forward and looked back at the holes his shell spikes had torn in the back of the control room chair and frowned. He held up the microphone to say something but was interrupted by a knock on the door. He spun the rotatable chair around to face it. "Enter."  
  
A small green-shell koopa troopa came though the large door (all doors in the castle had to be extra big for Bowser to fit through) and bowed. "Sir, the Lakitu surveillance team has returned. They say they have important information for you."  
  
"Excellent. I'll be right there." Bowser said, spinning the chair back around. Using a joystick he rotated the camera in Peach's room so he could see the door on his monitor screen. "Number 78, are you there?"  
  
Magma rummaged his way through the koopa crowd to peek through the bars of the little window in Peach's door. "Sir!" the turtle-like troopa said with a salute.  
  
"You're fully in charge of protecting my bride-to-be from now on." Bowser's voice was hard to hear from across the room and through the little window as it spoke through the low-quality speaker. "You have my permission to give orders to low-ranking troopas as necessary in order to carry out your mission. Use your best judgement and never let the princess out of your sight. Understood?"  
  
"Yes Sir!" Magma said, saluting the camera again. He was a bit shocked to hear such orders so soon after a failure. Getting to hand out orders was normally an honor reserved for high-ranking captains and generals. As he went to work sending out troops for weapons and supplies, the camera in Peach's chamber turned back to the scowling prisoner.  
  
Peach glared as Bowser's voice spoke to her. "Let's talk later, sweetcakes. I have some business to tend to. Over and out." The speaker clicked off and Peach turned to go bother the guards.   
------------  
The cool cave breeze ruffled the brightly glowing fireball in Luigi's gloved hand as he and the rescue team hiked through the dark, damp tunnel, causing the group's shadows to dance about the earthy walls and floor of the cavern. Sunnie gazed up at the ceiling fifteen feet above them, which was barely visible in the dim glow of the fireball. Long, twisty roots hung down from the arched roof, drops of water occaisionally falling from them.  
  
"How far does this tunnel go?" Toad asked, slightly worried as he looked out into the black abyss infront of them.  
  
"We'll just have to walk and find out." Mario said from the back of the pack.  
  
Toad nonchalantly inched closer to Sunnie, the darkness and suspense beginning scare the little mushroom man. A bad thought suddenly occured to him and he moved even closer, making Sunnie look over curiously. "W-what if there's no way out at the end...?"  
  
All but Mario stopped and exchanged a concerned look.  
  
Mario finally stopped at the front of the group with a self-confident smile. "Don't worry. Notice the wind in here?"  
  
The group turned their attention to the red overall-clad plumber, then to the ruffling fireball in Luigi's hand, then back to Mario. "Yeah..." Toad replied, noting his long pajama shirt flapping lightly behind him.  
  
"That means there has to be an opening at the other end." Mario explained. "Otherwise, the air couldn't flow through like this."  
  
Toad smiled ear-to-ear at his life long idol's seemingly endless sea of knowledge. "You're amazing, Sir Mario!"  
  
Luigi smiled also and resumed walking, Yoshi, Toad and Sunnie following suit while Mario stood with a big grin, waiting for them to pass so he could take up the back of the group as before.  
-----------  
Three small clouds floated silently a few feet off the ground near the castle's back door, small wisps of vapor drifting from them in the breeze. Inside the castle, the clouds' owners stood in a line before the Koopa King. "Lakitu Partol Unit #5 reporting, SIR!" said the three chubby turtle creatures, all wearing pilot's goggles, as they bowed to the hulking reptile. The Lakitu in the middle stepped forward to speak.  
  
"Your highness, while on patrol, my team and I spotted a group of five crossing the Doughnut Plains in this direction." the four-foot turlte reported in a small, dwarf-like voice.  
  
The Lakitu troopa on the right stepped forward. "They whom defeated us in the past, the plumber brothers Mario and Luigi, were among the five, your majesty." the fat little turtle said in an identical voice to the first.  
  
The last Lakitu on the left stepped forward. "And they rode the yoshi of infinite stomach who once ate half our army, sir!" he said, also using the same voice.  
  
Bowser smiled with slitted eyes. "Heheheh... My old friend Mario. I was hoping you'd show up." he said to himself. "Good work, Lakitu 5."   
  
The three goggle-clad turtles bowed in perfect synchronization. Suddenly thier smiles turned to frowns and they exchanged a worried look. The middle Lakitu stepped forward again and looked up at the giant spike-shelled tortise looming over him. "Sir, our mission was not totally successful, I'm affraid."   
  
"Hmm?" Bowser grunted, looking down at the pudgy shelled creature now only a couple of feet away.  
  
The right Lakitu stepped forward. "Slain was our fourth comrade upon sighting by the enemy plumber, majesty." he said sadly, bowing his head.  
  
The left turtle stepped forward. "The newcomer assigned to our team. Mario got him."  
  
Bowser growled, his sharp teeth showing. "MARIO SAW YOU?!" He bellowed in his titanic voice, deafening the Lakitu trio as they ducked into their shells in fear.  
  
The trembling middle Lakitu peeked from his shell. "I'm sorry, your highness. I should have instructed him better."  
  
Bowser took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "No matter. I never expected a surprise attack to defeat the legendary plumber, but it could have been handy to get rid of a few of his henchmen." He turned his back to the three trembling shells on the rocky floor and put his arms behind his back, carefully positioning them between the spikes on his shell. "I'll rally a troop of my strongest koopa soldiers. You three stand by and then guide the troops to where you saw Mario. If you find him, kill him and anyone he has with him."  
  
All three Lakitus popped their heads and limbs back out of thier shells as they hopped to thier feet. "Yes sir!" they said in synchronization, saluting the king as he walked away.  
  
Bowser pondered as he climbed the stairs to the main hall. He had trained his koopa troops for two years since his second defeat by Mario, but even as one of the srongest armies in the world their chances of beating Mario were slim at best. Bowser grinned as he turned his thoughts to his own training. The thick steel rings clattering around his wrists, ankles, and neck as he walked brought him a rush of adrenaline as he realized that they felt like nothing anymore. He had worn them for over two years now, adding a 25-pound ring to each limb every six months, now donning four on each arm and leg and around his neck. He raised his right hand to gaze upon the 100 pounds of spike-studded metal around his wrist, then whipped the arm out to the side and smiled as it took no effort. Mario may have legendary strength, but would it be enough when the Koopa King removed the 500 total pounds of steel from his already powerful body? The thought made Bowser tingle in anticipation of the duel they would soon engage in.  
-----------  
Mario and friends stopped their hike through the cave when the long tunnel opened into a large domed room with a pipe hanging down from the highest point of the ceiling. Luigi stood at the edge of the five or so-foot deep lake that filled the floor of the large chamber, pushing extra Fire Flower energy into his fireball to make it brighter so they could see the whole room. Some light came through the pipe in ceiling and as it reflected off the water, gave the room a very dim blue glow before Luigi's bright orange light overtook it. Sunnie's toe touched the water lightly as she stepped forward, sending a small ripple across perfectly still surface of the lake and causing a curved shadow to move along the walls and ceiling as the light was reflected from the water. From the yellow yoshi's back, Toad watched the silent light show in fascination, following the ripple and shadow to the other side of the lake where he saw an opening in the wall where the cave continued.  
  
Mario hopped off Yoshi's back, his feet hitting the damp sandy floor with an echoing thud and the tools in his belt jingling, and stepped to the edge of the water to evaluate the situation. He looked up at the pipe in the ceiling and then the tunnel on the other side of the lake, scratching his mustache as he pondered.   
  
"Do we swim over there and keep going in the cave, or get out of here through that pipe?" Luigi asked, making sure the flame stayed nice and bright.  
  
Mario looked slightly concerned as he pondered the green pipe. "The breeze in here is coming from that pipe, I think." Mario said, still looking up and playing with his facial hair.  
  
Luigi, Toad, Yoshi, and Sunnie all turned their attention to the air flow, which did seem to be coming from above more than from ahead. Toad suddenly realized what Mario was getting at and spoke up. "You mean that tunnel over there might not have an exit?" he said, leaning towards Mario while pointing across the lake.  
  
Mario looked over at the mushroom midget. "Yeah." he said with an encouraging tone, slightly impressed that Toad caught on so fast. He looked back at the tunnel opening across the lake for a few moments then said, "I've got an idea." He turned to the large green yoshi standing behind him. "Yoshi, swim over there and see if there's an air current going down that tunnel, too."  
  
The muscular dinosaur was apalled that Mario wouldn't do such an unpleasant task himself and gave the plumber an offended look.  
  
Mario groaned. "Yoshi, if I swim over there I'll be soggy for hours. You're not wearing clothes, so you might as well go for a little swim." the plumber explained, though Yoshi wasn't convinced. He decided to try a more practical approach, and smacked dinosaur's blocky rear end with an echoing clap. "Git!"  
  
Yoshi scowled back the persistent plumber, muttering angrily in yoshi-speech as he walked up to the edge of the lake. He dipped a foot the clear cave water and shuddered as it was quite cold. The large dinosaur paused for a deep breath to prepare for the temperature change, then crouched to hop into the lake. To his delight, he hit the icy-cold water with a huge splash that spritzed everyone on shore.  
  
Mario glared playfully at the yoshi as it swam dog-style across the shimmering pool, wiping the water droplets from his face.  
  
Yoshi paddled along quickly to the other side before the coldness of the water could sink in. He looked up as he passed under the pipe in the ceiling, and could see tree branches reaching over it. That made sense, he thought, noticing the tendrils of roots reaching down from all around the large green pipe. Eventually he came to the shore and climbed out, water streaming and then dripping from his smooth yoshi skin. He walked a few meters down the damp tunnel, which was totally pitch black as he had no light, then shivered as the cool cave breeze blew over his wet body.  
  
Mario stepped forward as Yoshi reappeared from the cave. "Is there wind in there?" the plumber called out across the lake, causing many seconds of echo.  
  
"Yoshi!" the green dinosaur called back, giving a thumbs-up.  
  
Mario clapped his hands together. "Perfect." he said with smile. "There has to be an opening down there for air to flow through. This cave probably goes on straight like this for miles, with exit pipes all along it. That means we can go on in here and get out whenever we like." The plumber sat down on the cave floor and began removing his shoes to swim.  
  
Toad followed Mario and Luigi's lead as they stripped off their clothes, fascinated by Mario's incredible expertise on what seemed to be everything. Soon the plumbers and the mushroom man were stark naked and Mario gathered everyone's clothes into a bundle, wrapping and tieing his shirt's sleeves, which were now their original red color instead of Fire Flower-enhanced white, around them to make a not-quite-round ball.   
  
"Yoshi! Catch!" the stripped plumber called out to his dinosaur partner across the lake. He hurled the tightly packed bundle of clothes in a huge arc over the water with his powerful arm, landing it perfectly in Yoshi's hands. Toad watched the mini display of power, enchanted to no end by the plumber's strength and ability. Luigi picked his fireball up off the ground as his brother plopped into the water, then followed him in, carefully holding the burning orb above his head to keep it dry. Sunnie and Toad splashed in last, paralyzed momentarily as they hadn't anticipated the cold.  
-----------  
Koopa troops gathered on the dry brown grass outside the huge, spike-topped walls of Bowser's dark castle, their weapons clattering as they murmured amongst themselves. Two long, flatbed wagons drawn by teams of four randomly colored yoshis rolled up from around the right and left of the castle, the crowd of 40 or so making way as they creaked to a halt infront of the vast front gate. Attention turned from the restlessly fidgeting dinosaurs to three short, chubby turtles wearing pilot goggles who floated out of the main gate on small, fluffy clouds. The hovering trio drifted up over the crowd, thier mysterious transportation giving off small wisps of white vapor which dissipated quickly as they lowered down at the front of the group. Bowser's thundering footsteps drew yet another attention shift as the massive turtle creature emerged from the main gate, following the Lakitu team.   
  
"Koopa troop!" the king's booming voice announced. "Your assignment is to destroy Mario and his henchmen! Lakitu Partol Unit #5 will lead the way! Understood?"  
  
All koopas struck perfect attention stances and saluted. "YES SIR!" The group of koopa troopas, half of whom sported spike-covered metal shells, hopped up on the creaky flatbed wagons, weaponry and armor clanging amid the sounds of voices and footsteps on the crunchy dead grass.  
  
Once all were seated along the sides of the wagons, Bowser pointed out over the horizon of dark forest beaneath the conrtasting bright blue sky, rattling his heavy bracelets. "MOVE OUT!"  
  
Whips cracked loudly above the yoshi teams as the Lakitu clouds drifted off into the hills of dry grass in the direction of Mushroom Kingdom, and soon the small army was rumbling along at high speed in roar of battle cries. Bowser watched the two wagons and three clouds until they vanished into the forest of gnarly thorn trees in the distance, then headed back inside to check up on his fiance.  
-----------  
Peach sat with her arms crossed and eyes shut on the soft pink bed, irritated to no end by the eleven koopas chattering and clattering outside her door. The turtle troop was in the process of installing two new steel doors blocking the hallway on either side of Peach's door, under the direction of troopa #78.  
  
Being by far the strongest of the group, Magma heaved the last heavy metal door upright and held it in place while his underlings bolted the hinges to the wall. Once securely attached, Magma opened and closed it and tested the lock. "Perfect! It doesn't even creak." he said aprovingly.  
  
A green-shelled guard dropped his hammer looked at his watch. "Hey Mag, it's 12:46. Are we getting gypped out of lunch today or what?"  
  
Magma hadn't realized they'd missed the usual lunch break while stuck guarding the princess, and once it was pointed out realized he was starved. "Good point, Slag. How 'bout running downstairs and grabbin' us some chow?" he asked, bending back as much as his shell would allow to stretch his back, still sore from Peach's stomp attack.  
  
The green-shelled koopa recounted to make sure there would still be ten guards present if he left, then said "Sure" and walked over to the newly installed door.   
  
As he reached for the handle, the door's lock snapped open, making him jump and pull his hand back. The door opened to reveal the giant koopa king, who looked down curiously at the relatively small turtle. The koopa guard quickly stepped sideways out of Bowser's way and bowed.  
  
Bowser entered the sort of room created by the two doors in the rock-walled hall and examined the Magma and his team's work as the troop backed up against the wall in attention stance to avoid blocking the king's way. "Not bad, Magma." Bowser said, impressed as he played with the creak-less door. "Why don't you guys take a quick break." Bowser suggested as he walked with thumping footsteps to Peach's door. "I'll take over here for now. I have some things to discuss with my princess."  
  
"Thank you, sir!" Magma said with a bow. "We'll return in ten minutes." he said, then headed for the door, followed by his ten cohorts in single file. As he passed the king, a strange figure came into view in the metal doorway. The dark figure had the snout of a koopa, but the rest of it's face was covered by thick eyeglasses and the hood of it's dark blue cloak. In the mysterious person's clawed hand was a long staff, tipped with a glowing star-shaped stone. Magma eyed the creature cautiously while passing it as it stood motionless like a statue in the middle of the large doorway. The line of ten green-shelled koopas behind Magma each took their turn suspiciously eyeing the cloaked figure as they too passed, keeping as much distance as possible from the peculiar stranger.  
  
As Bowser unlocked Peach's heavy wooden door and walked in, the staff-weilding statue finally came to motion, following the king into the chamber and slamming the door without touching it.  
-------------  
Smoke filled the air as Luigi lauched a fireball from his free hand, burning away a wall of spider webs that stretched from floor to ceiling. The large green yoshi he rode continued forward once the obstruction was gone, holding his breath as he passed through the smoke which smelled of charred silk. Riding behind Luigi was Mario, who sat backwards on the dinosaur's back out of boredom and watched the cave's scenery of earthy walls and hanging roots fade into the darkness behind them. Sunnie, with Toad in her saddle, walked alongside the larger green yoshi, staying as close as she could to Luigi's bright flame ball.  
  
Toad looked around the shadowy surroundings, unchanging except for the occasional spider webs which stretched across the ceiling or dangled down, swaying in the cool cave breeze. Almost six hours had passed since he set out on the quest at Mario's side, and so far it seemed the mission wouldn't be as dangerous as he'd though. "How long will it be till we're at Bowser's castle?" the mushroom asked, having never been to the Koopa Kingdom before.  
  
"If this tunnel goes on all the way to Koopa Kingdom, we can probably get there by tomorrow afternoon." Mario said, leaning on Luigi's back as he rode Yoshi facing the wrong direction, using the dinosaur's short, upright tail as a footrest. "That's if we camp out tonight." he added.  
  
Toad nodded and gazed down the dark tunnel ahead, almost wishing something exciting would happen as after an hour of wakling in there it was becoming somewhat monotonous. Then again, the goomba battle earlier was pretty scary, he thought. As he relived the terrifying scene in his mind, a sudden, deep growling sound made his heart stop in fear.  
  
Luigi put a hand on his stomach and blushed slightly at the gruesome sounds coming from it, though no-one could tell in the orange light of his fireball. "Heheh... Guess I should eat somethin', huh?" the plumber said with a bashful smile.  
  
Toad tried not to show it as he restarted his heart, exhaling the breath he was holding in panic. "Y-yeah." he said as casually as possible.  
  
After a long moment of silent walking, a horrifying realization came to Mario's mind and he froze.  
  
Luigi looked over his shoulder when the plumber leaning on him felt as though he had turned to stone. "You okay, bro?"  
  
Mario's eyes were circular as he thought back to when they stopped at the house for a bath, and when they stripped to cross the lake. Something was missing from that heap of clothing and he finally realized what it was. "I left the food we packed at the house." he said flatly without moving.  
  
Luigi, Toad, and Sunnie all became equally paralyzed with equally circular eyes. Yoshi stopped walking and gaped at the plumber's mindlessness, though he hadn't expected to eat any of the packed food anyway since there'd be plenty of enemies to gobble along the way.  
  
Luigi broke the paralysis and spin-jumped to stand on Yoshi's back, facing his brother. "YOU FORGOT THE FOOD?!" he said, squeezing his fireball light source till exploded with a bang, leaving the group blinded by total darkness.  
  
Mario's head ducked down until he had no neck as Luigi's outburst echoed through the blackness. He was too ashamed to reply and sincerely wished Luigi couldn't make another fireball, so he wouldn't have to bear the embarrasment of being seen again. To his dismay a new fireball formed in his brother's hand with a hiss of combustion and all were staring at him.  
  
Luigi's glare was cold and hard as granite; he was too mad to say anything.  
  
Toad stared with saucer eyes, half terrified of starvation, half devistated by the realization that his life-long idol wasn't nearly as perfect as he seemed.  
  
Sunnie was just plain scared and Yoshi was embarrassed to have such an idiot riding on him.  
  
Mario just sat crumpled up and sulked for a while until Toad broke his silence.   
  
"A-a-are we gonna... starve to death... Mario?" he asked, truly concerned.  
  
"Well... no..." Mario said, then seemed to relax a bit. "We can still get food from nature..."  
  
Toad and Sunnie were quite relieved to hear that though Luigi was still furious.  
  
Mario regained his cool most of the way and sat up straight again. "Well then, I guess we better get outta here first chance we get and look for food outside. I'm getting pretty hungry too."  
  
"But what if we get caught by the Koopas??" Toad asked worriedly.  
  
"It's a risk we've gotta take." Mario said. "Don't worry, me and Luigi usually have to travel outside the whole way when saving Peach anyway. It's almost a routine to us now."  
  
Finally relaxed enough to unclench his fists, Luigi took a calming breath and sat back down on Yoshi's back. The group set off down the tunnel once more, at a faster pace than before, hoping the next exit pipe wasn't too far off.  
---------------  
  
End of Part 4.  
Fanfiction by LavaLizard  
  
Mario Bros and it's related material copyright by Nintendo. 


	5. Mario Adventure 05: Magikoopa's Might

--------Mario Adventure---------BR  
  
Fanfiction by LavaLizardBR  
  
Super Mario Bros and it's related material are copyright of Nintendo.BR  
  
Chapter 5: Magikoopa's MightBR  
  
Dust clouds billowed up and swirled in the gusty winds behind the 50-strong battallion of koopa troops as their flat-bed wagons rumbled across the dry, baren fields on the edge of the Koopa Kingdom. The yoshi teams ran with amazing speed for pulling such heavy loads, their strong, booted feet tearing the cracked brown soil into dust and sending clods and pebbles flying back to sides. The wooden wheels of the two wagons rattled violently against the rough land and the troops' armor clatterd up a storm of noise from the vibration. Shouts and loud talk from the passengers added to racket. Overhead flew the three Lakitu guides, their small clouds streaking along almost faster than the yoshis could match. Wisps of mist trailed behind and mingled with dust clouds of wagons.BR  
  
"Don't ya think this is overkill, sending fifty troops to tackle three men?!" said one wagon driver koopa to the other, shouting over the noise. BR  
  
Pulling his wagon up closer, the other driver shouted back, "I don't know... I hear this Mario guy is pretty amazing!!"BR  
  
"Don't tell me you think he can defeat ALL of us?!" the first driver yelled back, fighting with the reigns to keep his yoshi team running straight.BR  
  
The second driver paused to steer his yoshis too, as the wagons were a little too close together, then said, "He's toppled the entire Koopa Kingdom more than once before! If he can topple our whole kingdom, I don't think fifty little Koopa Troopas are going to bother him!"BR  
  
The first driver thought for a moment. "You're worrying me now!" he said, though he sound truely worried. "Still, I don't see how an unarmed man can fight against spike-shells!" Both drivers looked back at the thick-limbed turtles seated along the sides of the wagons. Their thick steel shells looked impenetrable, and the long triangular spikes gleamed deadly whenever the sun peeked through the thick clouds overhead.BR  
  
"No way will some puny human beat us!" Yelled one of the spike-shells who was listening in. "I'll rip his head right off with my bare hands, if he doesn't stab himself on my shell first!!"BR  
  
The troops went into a roar of whooping and shouting, psyched and eager for senseless violence.BR  
  
The driver of the second wagon turned his eyes back to the front. "I hope you're right..."BR  
  
The first wagon's driver looked around at the environment. "Hey! Looks like we're comin' up on Dougnut Land!" he shouted back to the troops. Patches of green grass were growing here and there, closer and closer together as the wagons sped on. The horizon ahead was green, and scattered trees were visible in the far off distance. The clouds broke up and became more and more scattered. Before long the wagons were rolling smoothly across the soft grass of Doughnut Plains, faster now without rocks and bumps to slow them down. The troops again went into a cheerful uproar over the fresh air and relief from the rattling and clatter. BR  
  
"FULL SPEED AHEAD!!" shouted driver #2, whipping his yoshis to even faster speed. Now grass and moist soil were torn and hurled to the sides by the sheer force of the dinosaurs' powerful feet as they ran furiously across the plains. Overhead the Lakitu trio increased their speed as well, easily pulling ahead of the charging wagons, nomatter how fast they went. Off into plains they rode, bearing down quickly on Mario and his team.BR  
  
Peach stood up with a start when she saw the mysterious blue-cloaked koopa step out from behind Bowser as he entered her chamber. It had a strange look to it that gave even the stout-hearted Peach a fright. BR  
  
"Who the heck are you?" Peach asked in her soft yet tough voice.BR  
  
"This here's my buddy Magikoopa." Bowser said, looking at the hooded figure. "Seein' as how you're obviously not going to cooperate nomatter how generous I am, I've decided to have this guy try out a little hypnotism on you... unless of course you want agree to our wedding willingly."BR  
  
Magikoopa made response, standing still and silent. Not even breathing as one could see.BR  
  
Peach's face boiled with anger. "You... cheap... low-down... ARRRGH!!" she growled, clenching her fists and teeth. "Go ahead, just try and hypnotize me! Bring it on!" Peach screamed, angry enough punch anyone who got within reach.BR  
  
Magikoopa's lifeless form came to life once again as he slowly crept forward towards Peach. His face showed no expression, but one could feel a hideously sinister will inside him. Bowser grinned as Magikoopa held up his staff and the star stone at the tip began to glow pale yellow.BR  
  
Peach stared blankly at the light for many seconds, her expression still angry but she almost seemed frozen in time as the faint waves of light flowed over her face.BR  
  
Magikoopa again began to creep forward, reaching out with his left hand towards Peach's forehead as she stood motionless with her eyes locked on the glowing staff. His gnarled, clawed fingers were only a few inched from the princess' head when she let out a horrific screech.BR  
  
Peach screamed with fury and drove her fist into Magokoopa's face, shattering his thick glasses and skidding him back several feet along the carpet, though he didn't fall over. BR  
  
Bowser wailed and stumbled backwards as Peach hurled herself into the cloaked koopa, smashing her fists and feet into him with astounding strength, seemingly impossible for such a frail-looking woman.BR  
  
Magikoopa covered himself with his arms in surprise, though still he hadn't fallen over and even though Peach's kicks and punches hit with devastating force, he didn't show any signs of serious injury or even pain. Regaining his wits, he took a fast step backwards with a thrust of his hand sent Peach reeling back with some invisible force.BR  
  
Peach caught her balance and shouted at Magikoopa, "Noone hypnotizes THIS princess! Use all the magic you can muster! You won't defeat me!!" She was hysterical with rage and could hardly restrain herself from ripping Magikoopa and Bowser apart right there.BR  
  
Bowser cowered back in one corner, his head halfway inside his shell. BR  
  
Magikoopa ran his fingers along the bent rims of his crushed glasses. To Peach and Bowser's amazement the glass seemed to fade back into existance, and the rims uncrumpled into perfect shape. He lowered his hand back to his side and stood motionless once again.BR  
  
Peach stood waiting for what seemed like a long time, concetrating so as not to miss any sudden attack from either Magikoopa or Bowser. The room was excruciatingly silent for many seconds as Peach and Magikoopa stared each other down, with Bowser's nervous eyes shifting back and forth between them. BR  
  
Magikoopa broke the silence. "You die." His voice was dead calm, quiet and very deep, and devoid of any emotion.BR  
  
Peach locked her fighting stance and prepared for a lightning-fast defence and counter. But soon she felt floor tremble. Standing still as a statue, Magikoopa seemed to be gathering some invisible energy, so much of it that the very earth shuddered at it's force. Peach rooted her stance to the floor as the room shook harder and harder, rumbling now like thunder as the wizard's energy grew larger and larger. BR  
  
Bowser lept forward suddenly as bits of rock began to chip off the walls and ceiling. "Stop it!" He yelled at the cloaked figure as it stood still motionless before him. "Stop, Magikoopa! The princess must NOT die! She is my bride-to-be, not a foe to be killed!"BR  
  
Magikoopa gave no motion but replied, "Not your foe, but mine."BR  
  
Bowser roared with anger. "You insulent wretch! You're not in charge here! Do your job, or don't expect any pay!"BR  
  
Magikoopa turned slowly to Bowser. "Who did you say is in charge?" he said menacingly, shaking the room even harder. "I see no reason to fear you." His voice was deep and seemed to loom above Bowser even though he was over twice Magikoopa's height.BR  
  
Bowser took a step back in fear. That wizard weilded a power far greater than anything he was capable of and he knew it. He moved to run away but stopped when a thunderous impact blasted the wizard deep into the wall. BR  
  
Peach stood in the cloaked koopa's place in a wide stance with a smoking fist. "Don't turn your back on ME, fool!" she yelled harshly. "I'm not scared of some puny earthquake!"BR  
  
The rumbling in the earth subsided noticably as Magikoopa groaned and dug himself out of the rubble of the wall.BR  
  
Just then Magma and a horde of spear-weilding koopa guards stampeded into the chamber and filled the hall outside. BR  
  
"Your Majesty!" Magma yelled in panic, seeing his king cowering in the corner. "Are you alright?! What's causing that shaking?!"BR  
  
Magikoopa stood up straight and still as if nothing had happened and turned his head to the koopa crowd and Bowser in the midst of them. "You pests stay out of my fight!" he said in a louder voice than usual, obviously enraged. He thrust out his hand and all the koopas were smashed back into a pile against the wall and pressed hard by a powerful unseen force. Bowser kept on his feet but slid back, his shell spikes impaling any unfortunate koopas who had been piled behind him. He growled and strained to move against the pressure of the magic, but it was too powerful and it took all his strength just to hold his ground. Turning back to continue his duel with Peach, Magikoopa gaped, then flew onto his back in disbeleif. The door had been left open, and unguarded in the fray. Peach was gone.BR  
  
Tromping with echoing clomps through the tunnel, the yoshis Yoshi and Sunnie carried their leaders at a good speed, anxious to find the next exit pipe so they could search out some food above ground. All were quite hungry, and the exit was farther away than they expected. Luigi and Mario both held fireballs for light, generating them with the magic of the Fire Flowers they picked up at the start of the journey. Toad gazed anxiously at the ceiling as he rode, expecting to see an opening at any second, though more than an hour passed and still no opening came.BR  
  
"I don't think there is another exit pipe, Mario..." the mushroom-hatted midget said doubtfully, having lost his unswaying confidence in Mario's ability.BR  
  
"There has to be an exit for this breeze to flow through here." Mario said, knowing pipes better than anything else. "And by the smell of the air I'd say we're getting close to it. Smells too fresh to be deep cave air."BR  
  
Everyone else sniffed curiously and it did seem to smell like the air of a sunny field of grass on a spring day, though the smell of wet earth and sand was present too, coming from the damp walls and floor.BR  
  
"And don't forget," Mario added, "it did take us a long time to get to that last exit from where we came in. They should all be about the same distance apart. But yeah, if it doesn't come soon we might need to turn back 'cause we should be right-"BR  
  
"PIPE!!" Luigi cut Mario off when he saw a shiny green pipe poking out of the dripping cave roof. The yoshis stopped running and all stared up in wonder.BR  
  
Mario quickly walked right under the pipe and looked up. "Here we go!"BR  
  
Toad's eyes nearly popped out as Mario crouched and thrust himself like a rocket up and out of the pipe 17 feet overhead in one powerful leap. He ran forward and looked up through the pipe in amazement screaming "WHOA!!". "How did he DO that??" he asked Luigi in disbelief.BR  
  
Luigi laughed. "His jumping abilities are almost as famous as his adventures." he said, stepping forward. "I'm pretty good myself, but still I can't jump half as high as Mario can." He looked up through the pipe and called to Mario. "Is it safe?!"BR  
  
"Yee-hoo!" Mario yelled as he came back in, landing smoothly but with a loud impact. He held up a huge juicy pink berry with a huge smile on his face. "Lookie! There's a berry bush up there!"BR  
  
"Alright!" Luigi said happily. "Come on, let's eat!"BR  
  
"Yoshi, you go up first." Mario said to the large green dinosaur. "I'll toss Toad and Sunnie up to you since they can't jump that high."BR  
  
"T-t-t-TOSS?!" Toad exclaimed, not liking the sound of the idea.BR  
  
"It's okay, I'm quite confident in my aim." Mario said as Yoshi lept up to the pipe. He looked up when the bulky dinosaur stuck in the opening with a thunk, and laughed heartilly as he kicked and thrashed his legs in his struggle to squeeze out. Eventually he made it, and after looking around outside for a moment peered back down the pipe with hands ready to catch. BR  
  
Toad hesitantly stepped towards Mario as the plumber reached out to pick him up. "Please don't hurt me now, Sir." Toad said worriedly as Mario grabbed him up and wound up for the pitch. BR  
  
"Catch, Yoshi!" Mario said and hurled the shreiking mushroom up and right out through the pipe.BR  
  
Yoshi caught him firmly by the shoulders in his strong but relatively small hands, and placed him on the ground, sitting him leaning against the pipe as his legs were too wobbly to stand after such an ordeal.BR  
  
Mario stared up the pipe and then turned to Sunnie when Yoshi reappeared. "You're next, little one!"BR  
  
Sunnie took a worried step backwards, looking up at the pipe and it Mario. She really didn't want to do this.BR  
  
Luigi bent down and patted her back. "Don't worry, Mario's good. He won't throw unless it's 100% safe." he said smiling, and gave her a little push forward. "Go on now.." BR  
  
Against her instincts Sunnie stepped forward, still skeptical but reluctantly agreeing to take the risk.BR  
  
Mario smiled and picked up the little yellow dinosaur by one shoulder and the base of her short tail, swung her back like a pendulum to gain momentum (she was pretty heavy compared to Toad), then flung her up through the pipe and into Yoshi's iron grip. She was able to stand as Yoshi set her down, not shaken quite as bad as her master was, but she sat down beside him anyway to catch her breath. Mario soon blasted out of the pipe like a missile, flying a good 20 feet higher than the opening, flipping once at the top of the jump and landing with a thoom behind Yoshi, his feet making significant craters in the moist ground. Toad bent his head way back to look at the pipe he was leaning againt as the sound of Luigi's hands gripping the rim of the pipe was right above him. He scooted out of the way as the green and white-clad plumber scrambled out so as not to be stepped on. BR  
  
Mario, Luigi and Yoshi looked all around with wonder at the beautiful grove they'd come up to, Toad snapping out of his shock when he saw them and looking as well. All around were flowering lush trees, their blossoms bright orange and their leaves rich and green. Around their twisty roots grew happy green grass flecked with bright yellow dandilions. Through the intertwining branches above the sun's rays shone in sparkling orange beams, colored by the flowers and twinkling on floating pollen. What intrested them most though, was the huge flourishing berry bush which grew around the trunk of one tree. Amid it's fluffy green foliage grew huge pink berries, so big and swolen with juice they looked ready to burst. Yoshi was first to break the silence by running merrily forward and grabbing a juicy berry with his sticky long tongue.BR  
  
Mario and Luigi ran forward too, and Toad and Sunnie, now smiling and free of shakiness, got to their feet and ran over to join the party. The group laughed and gobbled down berries; the fruits were as big as apples and when bitten they gushed with sugary sweet juice. The five heroes picked a pile of the tasty pink orbs and sat down in a circle to talk and eat.BR  
  
Fire billowed furiously in a mighty explosion in the courtyard of Bowser's castle. Peach's dress caught fire and trailed smoke as she narrowly dodged Magikoopa's blast, running as fast as her legs would go in her attempt to escape from her koopa captors. Magikoopa had been hired to hypnotize Peach so she'd marry Bowser, making him king of Mushroom Kingdom, but after Peach's unexpected assault on him Magikoopa decided to kill her instead, much to Bowser's annoyance as the princess' death would ruin his plan entirely. The wizard didn't care about Bowser's plans. He was in charge now, and his plan was to kill that pest of a princess.BR  
  
Magikoopa fired another streaming ball of blinding white flame from his two outstretched fingers as he ran ferociously after Peach who was now close to the tall outer wall on the castle's rear side. BR  
  
Peach darted sideways and flew to the ground, covering herself and bracing as an intense light grew behind her. The fireball howled by where she'd just been, pulling up a feircely hot wind and flapping peach's dress like a flag in a wind storm. The sun-like ball slammed into the castle wall and the ground shuddered and tore apart under the sheer power of the explosion. Peach was sent flying by the shockwave, breaking her fall as best she could on the shifting slabs of earth that were formerly a well-kept lawn. As she rolled out of her flipping break-fall, Magikoopa was already upon her, flying through the air with a blazing fast punch. At the last possible instant Peach twisted her head out of the way by an inch, and at the same time threw out her knee, blasting it into the wizard's stomach. As he took a choking gasp she followed up with a two-fisted hammer-strike on his bony back that punched him deep into the soil. BR  
  
Meanwhile, behind them, the castle's wall was still tumbling down, shattered by the fireball. Peach looked back over her shoulder as the boulders came down and the dust went up, then flew to the gigantic opening with all her speed.BR  
  
Infuriated Magikoopa ripped his face out of the dirt, then without using his feet took off after the princess, gathering up a new type of magic in his rage-gnarled hand as he flew along by some kind of levitation. BR  
  
Entering the blinding dust cloud, Peach thought she was home free becasue Magikoopa couldn't see her to aim a magic blast, and all the koopa troopas were still inside the castle. But soon she felt the ground tremble and then all went to confusion and pain.BR  
  
Magikoopa clutched the wrist of his outstretched right hand, straining to withstand the force of the lightning attack coming from it. Searing white branches of electricity lashed and cracked like whips and thunder shook the earth and tore apart the ground beneath the wizard's feet. Wind and dust whirled up as the ground and the wall exploded where the bolts made contact with them. One bolt was locked onto Peach and crackled and hummed with deadly voltage.BR  
  
Peach fell limply to the ground as the lighning bolt faded away to crackling snaps of static. She tried to get up but could hardly move even her fingers, she was so badly strained by the electric shock. She could barely breathe in the thick swirling dust. She was at Magikoopa's mercy for now.BR  
  
Still clutching his shaking arm, Magikoopa stood panting at the edge of the dust cloud, watching and waiting to see if Peach had somehow survived his attack. Unlikely, for the strain of producing such power would be enough to kill any normal person. The ground around Magikoopa was utterly destroyed, with huge chunks and slabs of earth torn up and scattered like gravel, and deep cracks cutting all the way up to the main castle's walls, which were also cracked and damaged. The castle's rearmost outer wall was decimated; the gap in it was now wider than half the entire wall, and what still stood of it was battered and crumbling. Most of the stone spikes that lined the top had broken tips. Many seconds passed and there was no sign of life in the blowing dust. Magikoopa finaly managed to catch his breath and relax his arm, and walked forward into the cloud to deal the final blow, unless she was already dead.BR  
  
Peach struggled with all her will to stand, and as the dust thinned and she could get more air, she managed pull her arms under her chest and growled as she pushed herself up. But Magikoopa was already standing over her, looking down on her with lifeless eyes of pure hate. bR  
  
She tried to run, but her legs wouldn't work. She tried to think but her mind was scrambled. She was staring death right in the face.BR  
  
Inside the castle, Bowser was storming down the spiral steps from Peach's chamber, followed closely by Magma and any other troopas who could still fight. His beloved castle was shaken and the walls were cracking and chipping, his courtyard was in ruins, his wife-to-be was fighting for her life, and several troopas had been killed on his own shell spikes. He was pissed.BR(((not done yet))) 


End file.
